Mag Mile Socked By Shoe Store’s Closing

Our Gold Coast spy sent in a couple of interesting shots today. One of them is of the now former Johnston and Murphy store at 625 North Michigan Avenue.

Nationwide, a lot of retailers large and small have looked at their Christmas season receipts and decided to close their doors. Whether that’s the case here, or if it was expected, is unclear. We haven’t heard any chatter about it before this.

It may not be a case of bad Christmas sales. There have been a lot of international brands looking for space on Michigan Avenue. It’s always possible that one of them inked a deal for a rent at a price point higher than J&M wanted to pay. That seems likely, since it looks like like business as usual at other J&M stores. Either way, let’s hope this space gets filled faster than the revolving door that is the former Nokia Store.

For now, anyway, the stock has been cleared out and there’s a sign directing potential customers to head over to LaSalle Street, or the malls in the suburbs if they want J&M goods.

Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003. He has degrees in journalism and communication, and spent 20 years as a professional broadcaster as a reporter, anchor, producer, and news director. He can be reached at editor@ChicagoArchitecture.info.